


Late Night Talk

by FriendLey



Series: Forever [9]
Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 02:58:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17459309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendLey/pseuds/FriendLey
Summary: Henry and Elizabeth have a late night conversation.





	Late Night Talk

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Madam Secretary or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this story.

Henry's eyes fly open, taking in the darkness of the bedroom. He can hear his wife's even breathing beside him. He doesn't know how but he's certain Elizabeth is still awake. When you've been married for more than two decades, you just know.

He turns over to his side and not a second later, Elizabeth turns to face him, the whites of her eyes very visible in the darkness.

"You think I'm making the right decision?" She asks, breaking the silence of the night.

 _I should've known she'd overthink this_ , Henry thinks with an amused smirk. He also knows that when his wife overthinks, she needs his clarity and counsel. "Well, are you doing it because Russell Jackson wants you to do it? Or are you doing it because  _you_  want you to do it?"

"Russell Jackson," replies Elizabeth and then after a pause, follows it up with a "and me." She turns away from him, lying flat on her back and staring up at the ceiling. "Russell Jackson and me want me to do it."

Henry props up an elbow, waiting for his wife to continue because she has more on her mind than she lets on.

Finally, Elizabeth turns to Henry again, and mirrors his position. "It's just... It's a good way to get our advocacy out there and especially get the youth involved. "

"It's definitely a more modern way of reaching teenagers," nods Henry, agreeing.

"That and it'll be good PR."

Henry snorts a laugh. "That's Russell talking."

Elizabeth chuckles at the truth in the statement. "Russell and Daisy, you mean." Then, she grows silent as her mind continues to whirl. Beside her, Henry waits patiently, letting her make up her mind, letting her feel comfortable with the idea. Eventually, her eyes meet his and she says, "If I do this, I'll be able to reach out to the younger generation—the future of this country—then they can be more aware, more informed. I'd make foreign policy less foreign, Henry. It's the perfect platform."

"So, what's stopping you? What's keeping you awake tonight?"

"I keep coming back to how big a commitment it's going to be. If I do it, it's going to mean taking my work home with me, less time with the kids, with you."

"Okay, hold up." Henry rests a hand on his wife's arm. "First of all, it's not like you don't already take work home with you. Ah ah," he says when Elizabeth opened her mouth to disagree, "I've seen you fall asleep on the couch drooling on budget reports. What's the harm in adding to it? Second of all, I don't think it's going to take you away from the kids. In fact, they'll be glad to help you, teach you the ropes—even work with you."

"As for my third point," his voice drops to a sultry tone as he nudges her over so that Elizabeth is lying on her back once more. Then, he climbs atop her. "Do you really think I'm gonna let a little advocacy, no matter how much for the greater good it's going to be, interrupt my alone time with my wife?"

Elizabeth grins and Henry kisses her softly. She responds, albeit a little bit reluctantly and he knows there's still something left on her mind.

"What if I screw up?" Elizabeth mumbles against his lips and Henry pulls back a fraction. There's a light blush on her cheeks from admitting that tiny fear, the last thing stopping her from embracing the plan. "I can't just delete everything. Everything I do will be archived, it's going to be promoted, criticized."

Henry looks pensive. "That's true. It's tricky business taking photos and videos of your advocacy, choosing the proper filter, and then posting them on Snapchat. I mean, which filter do you use?"

"Yes! Exactly! According to Daisy different filters have different meanings. And between you and me, you've always been more adept at all the social media stuff than I am."

"That dog filter's always the popular one."

"What dog—" Elizabeth narrows her eyes at Henry and then pushes him off of her. "You're mocking my Snapchat illiteracy."

Henry chuckles and then pulls her back to him. She doesn't protest. "Well, it's a good thing I'm an amazing teacher because I will be more than happy to spend some time after class tutoring you."

Elizabeth raises an eyebrow playfully. "And what's on the syllabus exactly?"

Henry leans down and whispers, "The perfect filter," before wiping the devilish smile off her face with a kiss.


End file.
